Driver who hit pedestrian in Catasauqua avoids jail time

A Bethlehem man who hit a pedestrian in September after losing control of his pickup truck in Catasauqua avoided jail time Thursday.

Lehigh County Judge Maria L. Dantos ordered Sloan Williams, 33, to serve two years of probation, according to Stephen Van Natten, the county's chief of prosecutions.

Van Natten said Williams was also ordered to pay $8,655 in restitution.

Williams pleaded guilty last month to accidents involving injury while not properly licensed, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

The charge had been graded as a felony, but prosecutors reduced it to a misdemeanor for the plea.

Two summary charges — driving with a suspended license and reckless driving — were dropped as part of the plea deal.

According to Catasauqua police:

Richard Linares, 19, of Whitehall Township was loading items into a vehicle around noon Sept. 14 in the 600 block of Race Street when Williams' truck crossed the double yellow line, went up a curb and hit him.

Williams also hit the porch of a Race Street home and a utility pole.

Linares was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest for treatment of a leg injury.